Best Songs from the Dear Hunter's Act II: The Meaning of, and All Things Regarding Ms. Leading

kempokid
Act II: The Meaning of, and All Things Regarding Ms. Leading is the second studio album by American progressive rock band The Dear Hunter, released on May 22, 2007 through Triple Crown Records.The album is the second part of a six-act story.

The Top Ten

1The Bitter Suite III: Embrace

An incredibly beautiful song that despite being a slow ballad, easily keeps my attention with just how much beauty is contained within. There isn't much I can say about this song, as it stays extremely similar throughout its 8 minute length, but it is undoubtedly an amazing song - kempokid

2The Bitter Suite I and II: Meeting Ms. Leading and Through the Dime

The soft piano ballad sounds amazing, with a great deal of emotion being put into each word sung, all culminating in a climax that is utter perfection, with some incredible vocals that despite the screaming, works amazingly in the contrast with the beautiful instrumentation. At the halfway point, the song transitions into an awesome 2nd half, taking the general sound of swing/jazz, and then creating a ridiculously catchy, fun song. - kempokid

3The Lake and the River

I like the way it opens up sounding incredibly cheery and happy, before having a more solemn tone. This song takes many turns throughout, but particular moments, such as the absolutely excellent chorus, and the guitar solo after the quiet middle section. The outro is an amazing transition into the next song as well as sounding cool on its own. - kempokid

4Dear Ms. Leading

Definitely a song that I feel is incredibly underrated, I love the riffs and the more energetic, fast paced approach of it after a series of ballads, or at the very least, slow songs. The guitar in general is outstanding, and the vocals are excellent as always. - kempokid

5Red Hands

I find the melody and the use of guitar to be absolutely excellent, but I do find the vocals here to be slightly whiny at points, especially during the first time "Oh my god what have I done? " was sung. Despite this, I still find the song to be of extremely high quality, as the emotion displayed is at its most powerful here, and the composition is excellent all around. - kempokid

6The Oracles on the Delphi Express

Quite possibly the greatest transition I've ever heard in a song, being not just cool, but completely awesome in how it starts off exactly from where the Lake and the River left off. This is a much more fun track, being one of the ones heavily focused on swing music, with the wonderful piano and everything just having a really lighthearted feel to it, even if the lyrics happen to be quite dark. - kempokid

7Smiling Swine

I can only think of describing this song as obscenely happy. I can see some similarities to the Beatles here, but I do find it to be distinct enough and for it to have its own tone to it. I find the chorus to be in particular to be catchy and for the song to just leave me grinning like an idiot. - kempokid

8Evicted

While the song is fairly restrained compared to most others on the album, I enjoy the melody of it, and find the increase of energy near the end to be quite cool. - kempokid

9Vital Vessals Vindicate

I like the bouncy piano and the melodies of the song quite a lot. The way this becomes a much more orchestral track about halfway is a really cool transition that definitely feels as if it's a good way to close off this excellent album. - kempokid

10The Church and the Dime

There is a somewhat foreboding tone to this song, really accentuating the dark nature of the Dime in the context of the story. I really enjoy the reprise of the Pimp and the Priest in it as well, definitely a great moment. - kempokid

The Contenders

11Blood of the Rose

I really like the string orchestration on this track and the similarities to Carmen's Habanera within especially the intro. I also enjoy the incredibly laid back nature of it, providing a small break in between the energy that is usually found in Dear Hunter songs. - kempokid

12The Procession

I really like the percussion in this song, creating this constant drive to it that is further accentuated by a great chorus and excellent vocals that create a cohesive, energetic song that perfectly opens the album. - kempokid

13Where the Road Parts

I find the first couple of minutes to be wonderful, but then for it to become quite unimpressive after this point. This is definitely one of the only cases on the album where there is a filler song, but that's all I really feel like I can describe this one as. - kempokid

14Black Sandy Beaches

The back half of this album definitely has a couple of songs that are on a far lower level of quality compared to the rest of it. This is another song that I feel fits this, as there isn't anything I find to be memorable about it, and overall think it's quite lackluster. - kempokid